


Amaranthine

by dragonbornette



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Bottom!Ignis, Episode Ignis Spoilers, Lots of Angst, M/M, Smut, blow-jobs, gladio is a hot horny beast, ignis loves too much, kind of au but not really, noct is still a little shit, noctis can be a little shit, pining for each other but no one can say anything because they're idiots, prompto likes to watch, unrequited but not really unrequited love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:30:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonbornette/pseuds/dragonbornette
Summary: Ignis’s heart had always belonged to Noctis. Noctis just didn’t know it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am...super, SUPER new to this fandom, y'all. Like, within the past two to three months. But I have been sucked in, HARD. My heart is breaking and growing all the damn time, omg. So, please...bear with me while I get to know these lovable idiots. I imagine this is a couple of years before where the game takes place, but I didn't want to set a specific time and get caught up in the nitty-gritty details. Just use your imagination.
> 
> (Please be nice).
> 
> -
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/thelostlucian) | [tumblr](https://thelostlucian.tumblr.com/) | [Ko-Fi](https://Ko-fi.com/thelostlucian)

Ignis’s heart had always belonged to Noctis. Noctis just didn’t know it.

When they were little, Ignis had figured it out on a Valentine’s Day. He’d watched Noctis idly flip through the dozens of cards and gifts he’d been inundated with, but when Ignis had handed the prince the one he’d made, he’d seen a spark light in the younger boy’s eyes only he seemed to be able to put there.

Ever since then, Ignis bent over backwards to make Noctis happy. Gladiolus accused him of spoiling the Lucian prince, but he didn’t care.

Noctis always thought Ignis was just doing his duty as royal retainer and adviser. He never looked at it as anything deeper, as something that meant so much more than what Ignis was actually doing.

If the young Lucian prince lost something, Ignis was quick to buy two to replace it. If Noctis needed something, Ignis was the first to start looking. If he needed _anything_ , Ignis was there. Of course, the adviser did his best to hide the desperation and eagerness beneath a suave, cool veneer, but he truly was always the first to respond.

Noct had always had Ignis’s love, but he just didn’t know it.

 

* * *

 

 

Ignis had told himself early on that would never be satisfied, that Noctis was going to find someone else to make him happy one day. Someone he could actually love whose job wasn’t to be around him all the time. But Ignis often wondered what would happen if Noctis learned of his true feelings.

Whenever he observed Noctis talking to someone that was obviously interested in him, Ignis would silently chant in his head that the prince didn’t belong to him. It was the only thing he could do to stave off the jealousy that was more than inappropriate of him to feel. He would often find himself wondering if Noctis had relationships in secret, even from Ignis. He wasn’t privy to everything in the prince’s life, though he may as well have been.

Though, Noctis did prefer to hide things from people when he didn’t want to hurt them. Ignis wasn’t exempt from that rule, he knew that.

And then Ignis finally decided one day—if he couldn’t have Noctis, he would have anyone he wanted. The multitude of men and women willing to sleep with him had always been there, but none of them took his mind off the problem. Sure, it made him look good in front of the guys to be so wanted by so many, but it never filled that hole.

His heart knew it better than he did.

 

* * *

 

 

One night, Ignis joined Noctis in bed. Noctis had been fighting a nasty bout of tonsillitis and ultimately lost his voice. He stroked the prince’s midnight hair as he rested against the headboard, Noctis curled against him like a child. Ever since they were children, Ignis had touched Noctis’s hair this way, calming the younger boy when he’d been upset. It was a habit that had never died, a habit that never seemed weird. It had just always been.

Right now, the Lucian prince was distraught over the threat of surgery if he didn’t get better soon. Ignis was hiding his panic because it felt like nothing he could do could fix this situation. He’d never been in a predicament like this before.

He couldn’t give Noctis what he needed and it crushed him. For once, he couldn’t save the prince from what threatened him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before he could help it.

At those words, Noctis turned to look up at Ignis, blue eyes screaming something Ignis wasn’t sure he understood. He looked scared and worried, but his eyes were saying something the adviser just couldn’t decipher. “You will be quite fine, Noctis,” he assured the prince. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Noctis’s eyes shone with tears, Ignis quickly moving to wipe them away with one gloved thumb. “I promise.”

All he really wanted to do, though, was kiss those tears away.

 

* * *

 

“Thank you, Ignis,” Noctis quietly thanked the older man once he’d gotten his voice back. He’d avoided surgery, but not after several days of a talking ban and aggressive antibiotics.

Ignis lifted his head from the breakfast he’d prepared for them both. “For what, may I ask?” he asked with a shake of his head.

“For…you know, not leaving,” Noctis looked down at his eggs, dragging his fork through them idly. “For keeping your promise…”

“There is no need to thank me, Highness,” Ignis said, receiving a look from the younger man that said _no titles_. “You should know better than expect me to leave you in such a condition.”

“That’s…that’s not what I meant, Specs,” Noctis protested, dropping his head as a silence fell between them. The only sound was that of the clock ticking on the wall nearby. “I really wanted to tell you something, but… I just couldn’t.” He sighed. “I couldn’t even write it down, and…”

“…What do you mean?” Ignis set down his fork and gave Noctis his full attention.

The prince opened his mouth to reply, but Ignis’s phone rang at that moment and he never got a call he could ignore. Ignis glanced down at the intrusive device on the table before snatching it up and rising to his feet as politely as he could manage while answering. He stepped into the next room, leaving Noctis alone for a few moments before returning. “Your father made another appointment with the doctor, I’m afraid,” he said. “Please hurry with your breakfast and get ready so that we’re not late.” He scooped up his own plate, made quick work of covering it and placing it in the fridge, and glided out of the kitchen.

Noctis watched him from the table, gaze falling to his forgotten breakfast as disappointed tears brimmed in his eyes. “No, Iggy,” he whispered to himself. “…I just wanted to tell you I love you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Ignis was quick to notice the change in the prince’s behavior. Noctis could be anything from a goof, to a brat, to a straight up nerd, but he’d turned from all of that into a glum, cautious, hyperaware individual. When he lost something, he didn’t want people finding it for him. He wanted to find it himself. This included Ignis from looking too.

When Noct needed something, he stopped whining and got it himself.

It confounded Ignis. While some people might have seen the behavior as a maturing spurt in Noctis, Ignis knew something bad had caused this drastic change. But when he asked the young prince what was wrong, he received an insistent reply that everything was fine and nothing had changed. He even went so far as to confirm he was just growing up and doing things for himself now. He wasn’t a helpless child or spoiled brat.

Ignis protested that he hadn’t been implying Noctis was either of those things and that he was just trying to help. It was his job.

That reply served only to upset Noctis more, and the prince stomped off, confusing Ignis. The little prince he’d loved for all these years was turning into someone he didn’t know anymore.

So, after a stressful week of Gladiolus drilling Noctis as hard as he could at practice, Ignis hoped the hard work would start wearing down the prince’s resolve. He found Noctis searching the living room of his apartment one night for something, and politely asked him what he was looking for.

“My phone,” Noctis advised as he lifted a cushion and scowled when he revealed nothing beneath it. He dropped it and didn’t bother fixing it as his gaze scoured the room. “I know I had it in here, I didn’t bring it with me when we went out earlier.”

“Sure it’s not in your bedroom?” Ignis asked, one hand in his pocket.

Noctis glared at the adviser. “No,” he growled in assurance. “I had it with me earlier, why would it be in there?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Ignis replied, pulling his hand from his pocket and producing the small device, “but that’s precisely where I found it. On the floor, to be exact.”

Sapphire eyes fell on the phone in his retainer’s hand before he reluctantly made his way over to take it from him. “…Thank you,” he said in a small voice, growing angry when Ignis refused to let go.

“Will you please tell me what’s wrong?” Ignis asked quietly. “What has caused all this anger? Why so defensive?”

“I don’t get defensive!”

Ignis gave Noctis a look, and the young prince sighed heavily as his hand dropped away from trying to take back his phone.

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do. It has to deal with me, am I correct in assuming this?”

“No.”

" _Noctis_.”

The prince slumped on the couch before looking up at his adviser, teary-eyed. “It _doesn't_ have to deal with you, Specs,” he lied through his teeth, and Ignis pretended to believe him.

If it would get the truth out in some twisted version, he could decode it later. “Alright, then tell me what’s wrong.”

A silence followed. “…How do you deal with…” Noctis tried before he made a face and shook his head. “…When you, um, when you want something you can’t have _ever_? How do you deal with that?”

Ignis felt an ache in his heart, but he pushed it away. This was about Noctis. “How do you mean?”

“I’m in love with someone.”

Ignis felt as if he’d been punched a thousand times in his gut. He’d been expecting this day for a long time, but nothing compared to the actual experience – that Noctis had found someone. Or perhaps it was Luna?

“…Iggy?”

Broken from his stunned trance, Ignis looked to his prince and offered a smile. “Who is it?”

“Um, can we just stick to anonymity?” Noctis asked, fidgeting. “I don’t think telling you is the best idea.”

“Why not?” Ignis asked, trying to hide the hurt in his voice. Noctis told him almost everything and Ignis decided to point that out. “…Wait, how does this relate to you being a little shit?”

Noctis’s jaw fell at those words before his eyes narrowed. “How am I a little shit?” he demanded.

Ignis had been trying to tease the young prince, but Noctis’s anger only fueled his frustration. “You refuse to let me help you anymore. You don’t allow me to do anything for you. I’m your friend, aren’t I? Plus, it’s my job.”

Again, the wrong thing to say. Noctis’s eyes hardened as he snatched his phone from Ignis’s hand without warning and chucked it at the wall. “Gee, thanks Ignis,” he snapped as the phone made an awful cracking sound and tumbled to the ground. “That made me feel _so_ much better.” He shook his head. “You just don’t get it. You couldn’t love anyone anyway.” He stalked off before the adviser could reply.

Ignis’s gloved hands clenched, hurt replaced by agitation of his own stupidity and Noctis’s temper. “I…I misspoke, Highness.”

 

Noctis woke the next morning to small gift box on his nightstand, wrapped neatly with a note attached. Inside was a new phone, and a handwritten apology from Ignis.

The prince couldn’t help a smile.

 

* * *

 

 

Ignis fucked Gladio three times to try and get Noctis’s words out of his head, but it didn’t work. Even though he’d bought the new phone to try and make amends, the prince’s words echoed in his heart. He didn’t want to think about Noctis being in love with someone else. His fellow Crownguard had been more than willing to comply with Ignis's request.

So as Gladio bent him over the counter and fucked him into tomorrow, Ignis let himself be carried away.

 

It wasn’t until he found Noctis waiting for him one night that Ignis realized they needed to fix this with an actual talk and not just apology-by-gift. The prince looked especially adorable this evening, curled up on the couch in an oversized sweater that Ignis couldn’t be certain wasn’t Gladio’s. He was chewing absentmindedly on the sleeve as he stared at the TV, lost in the program he watched.

“Noctis?” Ignis asked as he shut the door. “What are you still doing up?”

Noctis shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Noctis.”

Glancing up at Ignis, Noctis sighed and patted the couch next to him. “I decided something and I think you need to hear it.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Ignis set down his bag and moved to sit next to the prince on the couch as Noctis shut the TV off. But as soon as he met his adviser’s gaze, he faltered.

It was Ignis’s turn to sigh as he reached to bring the prince into his arms, stroking his hair to calm him. “Whatever it is, you’re not ready,” he realized. “Don’t force it.”

“You’re keeping something from me too.” Noctis was quiet, relaxed in Ignis’s hold even as the adviser stiffened and his hand stilled in the prince’s hair.

“…How?”

“Astrals, Ignis, do you think I’m blind?”

“…Of course not.”

Noctis couldn’t help smiling, wishing he could just say how happy he felt to be with Ignis like this. It was so much easier to have a serious talk when he could curl up with the older man and just lay here.

“Noctis?”

The prince cracked an eye open. When had he closed them? “What?”

“…Did you really fall in love with someone?”

Ignis’s tone confused Noctis, and he sat up to look at his friend and adviser. “Yeah,” he said with a nod.

“…How long now?”

“…A couple weeks?”

“But…” Ignis’s emerald eyes narrowed. “…Excluding the doctor visits and outings with Gladio, you’ve been bedridden sick. Who could you possibly have met in that time?” He frowned. “I mean, forgive me, Highness. I shouldn’t have presumed…”

Noctis started laughing, interrupting Ignis’s ramble and causing him to scowl in embarrassment. He didn’t expect Noctis to understand why he’d rambled in the first place, but it still flustered him.

“Maybe you forgot the part where I told you it’s someone I can’t have.”

Ignis rolled his eyes before he could help himself. “Noctis, we’ve been through this,” he said. “Those King’s Knight characters are not real.”

Noctis scowled much like Ignis had moments ago. “Fuck you, Specs, I’m not in love with… Oh…” He trailed off, continuing to scowl as Ignis let out one of his rare laughs. It lit up his whole face in a way that made Noctis hurt inside, even more so when Ignis reached to pat his hair affectionately as his laughter died.

“Truly, Noct, why do you feel you can’t tell me this?”

There was a long pause before Noctis answered. “You’d hate me.”

“I beg to differ.” A pause. “…Is it a man? Is that why you think you can’t tell me?”

“No!” Noctis answered a little too quickly. “I mean, ugh…” He covered his face with one hand.

“…Do I know this gentleman?”

“Yes.”

“…Please tell me it’s not Ravus.”

Noctis couldn’t help a small smile. “It’s not Ravus,” he assured.

“…Prompto?”

The prince sighed again and shook his head.

“Gladio.”

“It’s not…” Noctis said, needing to stop this before—

“Me?” Ignis joked, adding a laugh that didn’t meet his eyes as he tried to hide the hurt the joke cost him. He missed the pained expression on Noctis’s face when his eyes fell on the clock and he noticed how late it had gotten. “Oh dear, Noctis, it’s quite late. We must get you in bed.”

Frowning as Ignis stood, Noctis remained where he was on the couch. “…Iggy, we’ve stayed up all night before with things to do in the morning,” he reminded in a quiet voice.

“Yes, but we can’t risk you getting sick again due to lack of proper sleep,” Ignis reprimanded softly, touching the prince’s face with one gloved hand. “Alright?”

Noctis nodded as he watched Ignis glide from the room. “I love you, Iggy.”

More than he should.

 

* * *

 

 

It scared Ignis one night when he realized he may never get the chance to tell Noctis the truth. It scared him to know the ache in his chest whenever they were together would always stay an ache he couldn’t relieve.

He hated the idea of giving up and never finding anything that would fill the hole meant for Noctis, but Ignis wondered if he really had any choice.

If Noctis would always stay his friend, his prince, never his lover.

Ignis was sitting on the couch one night watching television, although sparingly since he really didn’t enjoy it much. He flipped through the channels idly to find something interesting this time of night, but failed and eventually left it on a cooking show: the sole exception to his dislike of TV. Despite it being an episode he hadn’t seen before, Ignis paid it little attention. His mind was elsewhere.

Aside from his worsening infatuation with the Lucian prince, things at the Citadel were growing tense as the Niflheim situation worsened.

Thinking maybe he should put on something more distracting, Ignis lifted the remote to change the channel and jumped when something moved in his peripheral vision.

“Bloody _hell_ , Noctis!” he shouted, hand pressed to his chest to keep his heart inside. “You frightened me.”

Noctis frowned. “…Sorry, Iggy. I wasn’t trying.”

“What on earth are you doing up?”

“What are _you_ doing up?”

“I find I cannot sleep,” Ignis answered with a soft sniff as he turned back toward the television. “You, however, sleep like a rock. So don’t presume to give me some excuse about the television waking you.”

Noctis scowled at Ignis, but hesitated to answer. “…Promise you won’t laugh?”

Ignis blinked. “You have my word.”

“…I lost the fish.”

Another blink. “You what?”

The prince didn’t look thrilled about having to repeat himself, toeing the carpet with one foot. “…I lost the fish.”

Realization dawned on the advisor as he turned off the TV. “You still have it?”

“…Had it,” Noctis reminded. “…I can’t find it.”

The ‘fish’ in question was a small stuffed animal Ignis had bought for Noctis when he’d first learned of the prince’s love of fishing many years ago. Noctis had slept with it for quite some time as a child before deciding he was too old for it, but it forever sat on a shelf in his room. He refused to part with it.

“I was sleeping with it when I got sick,” Noctis admitted in a small voice, clearly embarrassed, “and I guess, old habits die hard. Kept sleeping with it and…” He trailed off and made a face. “I lost it.”

“Lost it?”

“I haven’t slept well since I lost it,” the prince said before looking up and noticing Ignis was struggling to hold in his laugh. “You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

Ignis bit his lip and cleared his throat with a slight bow of his head. “My apologies,” he said. “Come on, let’s go find it.” He took Noctis’s hand and led the prince back to his room, heart full with the thought of Noctis being upset over the loss of something like the fish. It gave him a small sliver of hope that maybe… Just maybe…

“It must be in here somewhere,” the adviser announced as he walked into Noctis’s messy bedroom. He lifted an eyebrow and glanced back at the prince, but Noctis could only offer a sheepish grin in apology at the state of his room.

Letting go of the younger man’s hand, Ignis began searching Noctis’s room thoroughly for some sign of the small stuffed fish. He checked the obvious places, under a pile - or two - of clothes before catching sight of a neon blue fin smushed between the bed frame and the wall. “Ah, found it.”

“Yeah?” Noctis asked, coming around to see where it was. He watched as Ignis futilely tried to pull it free before meeting that annoyed gaze.

“…How did you bloody get it wedged…” The adviser muttered with a scoff before standing to pull the bed away from the wall, freeing the fish as it tumbled to the ground. He picked it up and handed it to Noctis, who took the item and brought it to his chest.

“…Thanks, Iggy,” he mumbled, still embarrassed over the whole ordeal.

“Ah, Noct,” Ignis remarked, reaching to pat the young prince’s hair. “What would you do without me?” His hand then lowered to softly brush Noctis’s cheek, and for a moment, Ignis almost thought to kiss the young man in front of him.

“…I’d die.”

Ignis froze on Noctis’s cheek. “What?”

Noctis looked stunned that he’d said those words aloud, his disbelief delaying any chance he might have had at covering the slip-up. “Fuck this,” he muttered, dropping the fish as he reached up to take Ignis’s face in his hands and crushed their lips together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of smut. Ignis is frustrated. up goes the maturity rating.
> 
> and oh, look, I added a chapter.

Ignis took everything he’d ever thought about Noctis and threw it out the window. Matter of fact, Ignis stopped thinking altogether once those supple lips pressed against his own. It was intense, hot. They were pressed close and suddenly, Ignis was staggering back against the wall, gasping in alarm.

Noctis pulled away immediately, looking flustered and embarrassed, but worried. “Iggy?”

Ignis was out of breath and his glasses had slipped down to the edge of his nose. He pushed them up with one slender finger, gathering himself for what he was about to do. “Forgive me, darling,” he breathed, pushing off the wall as he stepped close. He slipped an arm around Noctis’s waist and pulled him close in one fluid movement. “Had to convince myself this was real.”

Noctis stared up at Ignis, hands pressed to the taller man’s chest. “…It’s always been you, Specs,” he whispered, staring into those emerald eyes. “…I…I didn’t know what I was feeling. Once I did, I…I didn’t think I could have you.”

Ignis’s eyes slid shut in silent regret. “Forgive me, Noct,” he said again. “I have loved you since we were children, but I thought…” He trailed off, opening his eyes to find the prince still staring up at him anxiously. “I thought you beyond my reach.”

“We’ve been a couple of idiots, huh?”

Ignis smiled before he could help himself. “I’ve been quite the fool and you, quite the right little shit.”

Noctis barked out a laugh instead of taking offense, and Ignis swooped in for a kiss as the tension bled out of them. He still refused to let himself think, refused to acknowledge the reality of them admitting their feelings possibly being a terrible idea. Ignis gave into his desires just this once.

Lips parted, tongues met, a shiver ran down Noctis’s back. Ignis made a soft noise in the back of his throat and the Lucian prince melted against his adviser, pressing him back against the wall. Ignis’s hands moved down Noctis’s back, holding him close with a shiver of his own while they fought for dominance in their kiss.

But Noctis broke away for air, gasping against Ignis’s lips as their foreheads touched.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this moment?” Ignis asked, voice low.

Noctis just shook his head and kissed Ignis again, hot and heavy. Needy. But to his shock and dismay, Ignis let out a groan of frustration and gently pried the prince off him.

“Easy, darling,” he murmured, trying to lower himself back to earth as duty came back into play. “…It’s…it’s much too late for us to get into this.”

“Iggy!” Noctis exclaimed in shock.

The royal adviser only smiled as he cupped Noctis’s cheek in one gloved hand, leaning in to kiss him, long and slow, tasting the prince again. “Bed, Noct,” he whispered against wet lips, pulling back to step past him.

“At least _stay,_ ” Noctis pleaded.

The adviser stopped in the doorway, turned and gave the dirty room a long _judging_ scan, and then met Noctis’s gaze expectantly. The prince blushed in embarrassment, making a note to clean his room as soon as possible.

“…Can I come sleep with you?”

“Can you behave?”

“Yes!” Noctis answered a little too quickly.

Ignis gave the prince a stern look before a smile quirked at his lips and he motioned with one finger. “Come along.”

Noctis followed.

 

* * *

 

 

Ignis knew last night could have gone far worse. So, although things had not gone to plan the way he’d envisioned them all these years, he woke up the next morning with the world lifted off his shoulders. He loved Noctis. Noctis loved him.

He’d driven Noctis to the Citadel, carried about his business during the day, and waited for the prince outside the steps to take him home that afternoon.

Leaning against the _Regalia_ , Ignis tipped his head back and closed his eyes, humming softly to himself as he smiled. Oh, what an evening he had planned for the prince.

“Well, well, well, aren’t we in a good mood today?” Gladio’s voice suddenly spoke, startling Ignis from his reverie against the car.

He spotted the big guy a few feet away, bag slung over one shoulder as he approached, dripping with sex. Ignis's embarrassment over being startled in addition to Gladio’s comment and presence alone, overshadowed his wit and he remained silent as the other man approached.

“Uh, Iggy?”

“Hm, yes?”

“…Wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”

“Not particularly.”

“Hm.” Gladio reached Ignis and leaned in close. He smelled of sweat and faint cologne. “Wanna come over later?” he asked in Ignis’s ear.

The adviser couldn’t help the shiver that flew down his spine, but caught himself and pulled away. “No, thank you,” he managed with a thick swallow, cheeks warm. His gaze darted up to Gladio, meeting those hungry amber eyes. “I…”

“Iggy!” Noctis’s voice called from the steps as both men turned and spotted the prince waving.

Immediately, Ignis’s expression softened with a smile as he pushed himself off the car and waved back.

Gladio’s gaze snapped back to Ignis, then to Noctis and he pulled back with a scoff. “The princess? _Really_?”

“You hush that mouth of yours right now,” Ignis hissed under his breath, surprising Gladio.

Noctis bounded down the steps like a child, running straight to Ignis and kissing him hard on the mouth.

Stunned by the prince’s boldness, Ignis sputtered and pulled back in embarrassment, only to find Noctis grinning.

“Just letting Gladdy here know, hands off,” Noctis explained, hands patting Ignis’s hips as he gave the Shield a _look_.

“Too late, princess—”

Ignis’s eyes widened. “—Oh no—”

“—Already had him.”

“Gladio!”

“Really?!”

“ _Noctis_!”

This wasn’t going as Ignis had planned at _all_.

 

* * *

 

 

“Iggy, are you mad at me?”

Ignis glanced away from the stew he was preparing, spotting Noctis in the entryway to the kitchen, eyes big and worried as he chewed on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “I would have thought myself to be the one deserving of _your_ anger, Noct.”

“Huh? Why?”

Ignis’s cheeks darkened and he turned back to the stew. Noctis’s eyes narrowed.

“…Because of Gladio?” the prince asked before laughing when Ignis’s blush deepened. “Why?”

“Oh, Noct….” Ignis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m afraid I expected things to go quite differently, if the day came when we confessed how we felt for one another.” He stole a glance at the prince, who’d inched closer. “…It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours and you already know that Gladio…”

He faltered and Noctis grinned. “Fucked you.”

“ _Noct_.”

“Iggy, it’s okay,” Noctis assured, drawing up behind the adviser as he wrapped his arms around that slim but built frame. “I can’t be jealous or mad or anything. And Gladio’s hot—”

Ignis’s head snapped to the side to eye Noctis.

“—But you’re hotter?”

“Thank you.”

Smiling, Noctis stood on his toes to lean over Ignis’s shoulder and kiss the small smile forming on the other man’s lips. “Please stop worrying about how everything did or didn’t go to plan,” he said after a moment, Ignis meeting his gaze. “I just want to _be_ , okay?”

Ignis’s expression softened as he put the lid on the pot. “A truly endearing sentiment,” he noted. “You’re right.”

Noctis actually grinned. “You’re such a softie.”

“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“I’m not!” the prince protested. “One of us has to be.”

Ignis turned around in Noctis’s arms, facing him. “…I just wanted all of this to be perfect,” he admitted. “You deserve it.” He reached to take Noctis’s face in his gloved hands and watched the younger man’s expression turn serious. “I love you. I really do.”

A smile blossomed across Noctis’s lips before he closed the space between them with a kiss. Soft and loving at first, but quickly deepening with an almost drowning desperation. The prince was pleased with how good a kisser Ignis was. He expected the other man to be so neat, so clean, but the fiery way the adviser was kissing him now, made Noctis feel like he was being swallowed whole. It was electric, and Noctis needed _more_. He pressed Ignis back into the stove without thinking, but Ignis was quick to jerk away with a hiss of warning.

Noctis caught a glimpse of mussed, flustered Ignis before the adviser was pushing him across the kitchen to the opposite counter. Ignis moved like a predator, effortlessly moving to resume kissing Noctis before the prince surprised him by going for his throat. He gasped when he felt lips and teeth and tongue on his skin, marking him. His fingers curled into Noctis’s arms where he’d grabbed the prince before those gloved hands slid up to Noctis’s hair.

“Noct…” he breathed, arching against the prince, forcing their hips together, showing his need. He was pleased beyond measure to feel Noctis’s own desire through his pants.

“…Iggy…”

Ignis was all too eager to drop to his knees before his future king, all too eager to please him and make him happy like he always did. Noctis would always come first, in a manner of speaking. He couldn’t help the smirk that graced his lips at his own terrible pun as he yanked Noctis’s pants down and exposed the prince’s swollen cock.

Noctis let out a breath, eyes blinking down, stunned that they’d gone from making out to…this. But he stayed silent, blue eyes swallowed up by dark pupils as he threaded his fingers through Ignis’s hair.

“May I?”

Noctis let out a breathy, needy laugh and nodded.

Ignis took a moment to remove his gloves, setting them on the counter beside Noctis before running his hands up the prince’s exposed thighs. He smiled when that earned him a shiver, kissing after his hands until he wrapped one around the base of Noctis’s cock and squeezed.

A choked moan escaped the prince’s lips as Ignis pressed a kiss to the tip and took the length into his mouth, and he felt Noctis’s hands tighten in his hair. It hurt but felt good and he moaned around hot flesh to let Noctis know he liked it.

Noctis struggled to drink in the sight of Ignis swallowing around his cock. Those intense green eyes stared up at him every second of it and he fought not to let his hips ruin Ignis’s gorgeous mouth. But another swallow had his eyes rolling back in his head and he moaned, hips twitching forward into that wet blissful warmth for _more_.

“ _Iggy_ …” he begged, one hand moving back to brace himself on the counter while the other held Ignis’s head firm.

The adviser finally pulled back, panting softly as he dragged his tongue over the tip. “Go on,” he encouraged, taking Noctis back into his mouth and relaxing his jaw.

The Lucian prince did not have to ask what he’d been given permission to do. His hips jerked forward once experimentally, and when Ignis did not protest, he did it again. And again. And again, fucking Ignis's mouth without shame. He moaned and clenched his eyes shut, unable to handle that intense gaze on him any longer, that familiar tight coil building in his stomach.

“Ignis!” he gasped in warning, close to release and unable to get out what he needed to say. He felt Ignis give his leg a squeeze of assurance and Noctis let go. White filled his vision even with his eyes closed, fire ran down his spine and all the way to his toes, which curled as he came hard in Ignis’s mouth. He arched off the counter and then sagged heavily against it, but Ignis was there in an instant.

Noctis opened his eyes to find Ignis wiping at the back of his mouth before those familiar arms snuck around his waist, holding him as he came down from post-orgasm high. He watched as Ignis fixed his pants for him and then he was hoisted onto the counter to sit.

“Dinner’s ready,” the adviser quipped, stealing a kiss that Noctis could faintly taste himself in.

“…What…what about you?” he managed to ask once he came to his senses.

Ignis had taken the lid off the pot and was stirring the stew as if he hadn’t just blown the Lucian prince. “Mm, there’s always room for dessert.”

 

* * *

 

 

Dessert never came.

A knock on the door after dinner revealed Prompto, ready to engage in some heavy video game activity and Noctis instantly remembered the plans with the blond that they’d made earlier that week. 

"Hey, Ignis~!"

"Hello, Prompto," Ignis greeted with a soft nod, offering a smile.

"Go on back to my room, I'll be there in a sec," Noctis said, Prompto complying without a second thought as he bounced off to Noctis's room.

The prince looked horribly rejected as he turned to face Ignis. “Iggy…” he tried, but Ignis only smiled and touched the prince’s cheek.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he reminded, stealing a long kiss that held a promise of things to come, and watched Noctis smile and nod before running to join Prompto.

Ignis truly didn’t mind the delay in gratification. He cleaned up the table and the kitchen, stitched up a hole in one of Noctis’s shirts, and then retired to his bedroom. He could hear laughing and cursing coming from Noctis’s bedroom, and smiled as he shut his door and got ready for bed.

He could still hear them laughing and playing their game as he fell asleep…

…and woke up to a delicious feeling spreading throughout him. His eyes blinked open slowly, confused and uncertain before the wet sound of a mouth around his cock reached his ears and he let out a breathy moan.

_Oh._

Hands found the head between his legs in the dark, fingers twining in those dark locks and tugging. His answer was a moan and his toes curled into the bed as sparks ignited all over his body from the vibrations. “…Noctis, what on earth are you… _Oh_ … _”_

He was so hard, so close already, it was ridiculous. He glanced down and saw the blurry bulge of Noctis’s head moving under the covers, another moan of desire and _need_ escaping his lips. His fingers tightened in the prince’s hair, hips jerking and when Noctis did something with his tongue, Ignis let out a filthy sound that he was almost embarrassed by.

Noctis pulled off his cock with a soft ‘pop’. “Come on, Iggy,” he encouraged from under the covers, voice thick with need as his hand wrapped around Ignis and pumped.

Ignis cried out before he could stop himself, hips rutting into that hand and then he was coming. Hard. He briefly worried about the mess he was making in his sheets before sagging back on the bed, fighting to catch his breath as Noctis moved around under the covers for a moment more and then popped up from underneath. He seemed quite pleased with himself.

“Come here,” Ignis breathed, taking Noctis’s chin and kissing him, hot and wet.

“I’m really sorry, Specs,” Noctis said when they broke apart, nuzzling his nose against Ignis’s. “I forgot about Prompto.”

“Honestly, Noctis, enough.” Ignis turned onto his side and pressed back against the prince, ready to sleep, only to feel a hardness press against him. He shot a look back over his shoulder and lifted an eyebrow. Noctis could only offer a sheepish grin.

“What? You act like blowing you isn’t a huge turn on.”

“I am not acting in any such manner,” Ignis retorted, weighing his options before he rolled onto his stomach and drew his knees up under him. He gave Noctis a pointed look and wiggled his ass. “Care to do something about it?”

Noctis was all too eager to comply.

 

* * *

 

Noctis fucked differently than Gladio and Ignis couldn’t figure out why that was the first thing that came to mind. Gladio was a beast – insatiable, heavy, deliciously rough.

Noctis was far less experienced, but eager to please, and his efforts were not wasted. While Gladio was all about the end game, the big finish, Noctis seemed more aware about making sure Ignis felt _good_. Not to say Gladio didn’t care, but Noctis…

Ignis smiled at the realization. Noctis _loved_ him. He stopped thinking about Gladio and let the pleasure wash over him as Noctis found his rhythm and they moved together. Cursing under his breath as a particularly well-aimed thrust from the Lucian prince had him seeing stars, Ignis's hands gripped his pillow as he pushed back into Noctis's movements, needing more. He was already hard again, his own cock trapped between himself and the mattress, but Noctis felt so good, he let the friction of the sheets against his length be enough for now.

Hands tightened on his hips as Noctis's thrusts turned more erratic. Ignis heard the prince whimper and stole a glance over his shoulder to find his lover's gaze in the dark, even if he couldn't really... _see_. "Come on, Noct," he breathed, voice thick and low with lust. "You've earned it."

Maybe his voice was enough to coax Noctis to release, but a couple more thrusts and he was spilling into Ignis with a choked moan of the adviser's name. Ignis's hand scrambled to grab himself, pumping desperately as Noctis pressed in deep one final time and brought him over the edge.

It was an effort for Noctis to pull out and collapse next to Ignis in the bed, chest still heaving with the aftermath of sex. He looked over at Ignis, watching the other man clean his hand before bringing Noctis into his arms. They lay together in the afterglow for quite some time, and Ignis decided this wasn't a bad way for things to go at all.

As if reading his thoughts, Noctis turned his head up from where it lay on Ignis’s chest, to look at his adviser. “…How’d you see things panning out, Iggy?”

“Hm?”

“Earlier, you said you expected things to go differently, that you wanted them to be perfect,” Noctis reminded. “…Well, what’s perfect?”

Ignis squinted down at Noctis before he shook his head. “…I’d rather show you.”

“Show me?”

Ignis nodded once. “Yes.”

"Okay, I'm game."

Ignis stole a kiss and smiled, already planning things out in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am terribly self-conscious about writing smut. you didn't need to know that, but yeah. i hope that did it for you. giggety.
> 
> i don't post original material on tumblr, but catch me on there too - dragonbornette  
> or on DW - bill_kaulitz (i plan to start posting my work there too soon <3)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis's plans go to shit.   
> More angst ensues.  
> This is NOT how I was planning this fic to pan out.  
> I've turned into Ignis. 
> 
> This MIGHT need an epilogue.

While Noctis was busy with things at the Citadel and Ignis had a little bit of free time on his hands, the adviser perused the royal gardens, looking for ideas. He had exactly what he wanted to do in mind, but no matter how he approached it, the result always came out so… _cheesy_ and not at all romantic. This posed one of many problems to Ignis’s plans, but still, he persisted.

As he bent to smell one flower, Ignis closed his eyes. It smelled _wonderful,_ but it wasn't the flower he sought. When he stood up, however, there was a body behind his own and a voice spoke in his ear.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Ignis managed to keep himself from leaping to the side in a dramatic fashion, and only a soft yelp escaped his lips as he jerked in surprise.

“Bloody hell, Gladio,” he hissed, back rigid where the big guy was pressed behind him, heart pounding. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Being nosy.”

“I can see that,” Ignis snapped back, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the frustratingly large man behind him. Gladio was much too close.

“…So? Whatcha doin’?”

“None of your business,” Ignis said as he turned to leave before a big hand grabbed his arm and spun him around.

“It’s for the princess, huh.”

“And if it is?”

Gladio looked rather…disappointed. His hand had slid around Ignis’s lower back and pulled him close, hips touching, but he stopped at that answer and Ignis was suddenly aware of a new problem on his hands.

“…Gladio?”

“It’s cool. Just forget it.”

And just like that, Gladio was gone.

 

* * *

 

 

Noctis noticed something was off in Ignis’s behavior, but the adviser remained close-lipped the whole way home, even after they were inside the apartment. At first, the young prince was alarmed he’d done something to upset Ignis, but quickly dismissed it, knowing there had been no time for him to screw up anything.

Had _Ignis_ done something?

Frowning at the thought, Noctis put his things away and returned to find Ignis in the kitchen, starting dinner.

“Iggy?” Noctis waited for the adviser to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

Seeing the worry in those blue eyes, Ignis sighed and set down the pot in his hand, beckoning the prince to him. “Oh Noct,” he murmured, once the younger man was in his arms. “…What’s _not_ wrong…”

Noctis’s frown deepened as he kissed at Ignis’s lips. “Tell me?” he asked. “Maybe I can make it better.”

Ignis’s face softened at those words, touched by them as he tightened his arms around Noctis. He didn’t say anything, just kissed the prince long and soft, the frustration easing out of him especially when Noctis’s hands began to rub his back.

“…I’m afraid I’ve been… _struggling_ to put together the way I wanted things to be,” Ignis began softly, touching his forehead to Noct’s. “I fear that you were right. I shouldn’t worry about these things and just let us be, but… I really did want to show you…” He trailed off and sighed. “And, then there’s the issue with Gladio…”

Noctis pulled back in surprise. “Gladio?”

A nod. “He’s rather upset with me. I daresay he’s jealous.” Ignis blushed as he decided to be honest. “…Our last time _together_ wasn’t very long ago. I let him…” He cleared his throat as the blush reached his ears. “Well, I was upset with you and I let him take care of my frustrations. Three times.”

Noctis’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, don’t you give me that look,” Ignis huffed, pulling back. “There is absolutely no way you’ve remained celibate this whole time pining after me.”

It was Noctis’s turn to blush, confirming Ignis’s suspicions, but now he was intrigued.

“With whom?”

Noctis pulled back, avoiding Ignis’s inquisitive stare. “…Prompto.”

“… _Really_ …” Ignis drawled, much to Noctis’s chagrin.

“Shut up, Iggy.” Blue eyes shot back to look at the adviser. “You should thank him for that excellent blow job I gave you the other night.”

Ignis couldn’t help a laugh as he reached for Noctis to bring him back into his arms. “Oh, please forgive me, Noctis, I’m deflecting.” He felt the prince relax in his arms and pulled back to look at him, kissing him softly.

The kiss deepened. Noct’s hands slid up Ignis’s dark shirt to hook around his neck as he pressed his body against the adviser’s. “Iggy, tell me…” he breathed between heated kisses, tilting his head when Ignis moved down his neck. “Tell me what you were going to do…”

Ignis stilled against him before he pulled back and met Noctis’s gaze. He was silent for a long moment, but then he nodded. “…Do you know what ‘amaranthine’ means, Noctis?”

The prince shook his head.

“It means undying, never fading,” the adviser continued, dusting his lips over Noctis’s. “It’s been my favorite word for quite some time.” He kissed the prince. “It comes from the word ‘amaranth’, which is a flower, among other things.” He sighed against Noctis’s lips. “I planned to get you some, but despite my love for the word, I had never seen the flower before. It’s…quite hideous I’m afraid. Has no distinct odor. Some people even consider it a _weed_ …” He closed his eyes and scoffed. “I was terribly let down. My plan was ruined.”

Noctis tilted his head slightly. “So, you’re mad because you couldn’t get me flowers?”

“No,” Ignis corrected. “I am upset because I wanted to show you how my love for _you_ is amaranthine. But everything refused to cooperate…” He opened his eyes and stared into Noctis’s. “…I love you, my dear Noctis. I just wanted to show you how much.”

An expression came over Noctis’s face that the adviser couldn’t read before the prince pulled away. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Ignis’s brow furrowed but he nodded and watched Noctis disappear through the entryway. He waited for a couple minutes before deciding he could at least resume making dinner _just_ as Noctis returned with a shoebox in his hands. The prince approached his adviser and set the box down beside him, opening it to reveal contents that made Ignis’s heart clench.

Inside were a collection of items Ignis had given to Noctis over the years – ranging from ticket stubs of movies they’d seen, to little insignificant reminders Ignis had written to Noctis. There were also pictures, even the apology letter from the other week. Ignis spotted things he’d thought had gone missing but apparently Noctis had just stolen, but Ignis found he couldn’t be mad.

Especially when the young prince produced a very memorable item: his first valentine’s from Ignis. Noctis held it for a long moment before he looked up at the man beside him. “Iggy, I…” He tried, failing and biting his lip. “I may have not known it then, but I know it now: you already _have_ shown me how much you love me.”

He opened the card, revealing a small sketch of hearts, and Noctis and Ignis as chibis. Ignis’s handwriting was beautifully neat even at such a young age.

Together, they stared at the card in silence before Noctis turned to look up at Ignis, whose eyes were already on him. He saw the emotion in the older man’s eyes, but before he could comment on it, Ignis had kissed him, one hand cupping his face, while the other slid around his back and drew him close. The card fell to the counter, forgotten as the kiss deepened and Noctis let out a whimper. His lips parted and Ignis claimed him, pressing him against the counter and Noctis’s hands gripped the adviser’s hips as he hung on for dear life.

They broke apart, both panting for air with need and desire hanging between them. “Bed,” Noctis breathed against Ignis’s lips.

Ignis eagerly nodded his agreement. Together, they returned to the bedroom, and Ignis showed Noctis just how much he loved him.

 

* * *

 

 

Things don’t stay perfect. The honeymoon phase ended.

They still fight. Noctis is still a little shit at times, Ignis is still too by-the-book. But they always make up. There are no more secrets. They’re happy.

But the announcement Noct was to marry Luna ripped everything apart. It drove an indomitable wedge between them. Plans beyond their control were made and the trip to Altissia was set. Within days, they’re on the road. Ignis and Noct put up pretenses for the others, but things were still tense between Gladio and Ignis on top of everything else.

Prompto was the only one blissfully unaware anything was amiss.

Their first night in Hammerhead, Prompto and Noctis went off exploring while Ignis stayed behind at the caravan. Gladio was still in the diner eating, so Ignis took solace in the alone time he was getting by staying behind. He felt miserable. The love he still felt for his prince burned like an ache within him, consuming him and creating a void he couldn’t fill with anything else.

Gladio was who he’d turned to in these situations back then, but Gladio was _right there_ and Ignis loved Noctis still too much to betray him. The adviser still didn’t even know what to make of their relationship. Were they even still together? How could they be? Noctis was betrothed to another!

Turning onto his side to stare out through the slits in the blinds, Ignis heard the sounds of someone entering the cavern and knew it was Gladio even before the big guy darkened the doorway. He’d brought enough cologne on the trip to bathe in, but it smelled so good, Ignis didn’t care. He could smell Gladio from where he lay.

“He still loves you, you know.”

Ignis’s head jerked up as he turned to look at Gladio. “I’m not daft, Gladiolus,” he snapped. “I’m quite aware of his feelings for me. You know that’s not the problem. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, this is none of your business.”

“Like hell it is,” Gladio countered, taking a step forward and brushing the dismissal aside. “You don’t get to be all high and mighty after what you did.”

Ignis sputtered. “After what I _did_? We were—”

“—Never together? Yeah, yeah, I know.” Gladio was standing beside the bed, hovering over the adviser. “I didn’t realize that meant my feelings didn’t mean anything.”

“I am not responsible for _your_ feelings, Gladiolus,” Ignis huffed. “I told you from the beginning what I wanted. Anything else is on _you_ —”

And then Gladio was kissing him. Hard, rough. His facial hair was a sensation Ignis wasn’t used to, scratching him as his gloved hands found the Shield’s hair, fingers twining before he yanked the man off him. Flushed and panting, Ignis shoved Gladio back. The big man staggered, looking at Ignis with eyes of blazing amber, and the fair-haired man wasn’t sure he could deny them.

His feelings were turning into a mess Ignis wasn’t sure he could sort out. He loved Noctis with everything in him, but what was Gladio to him? What was he to Gladio? What was _this_? Should he be worried his prince was alone with Prompto?

Ignis gave into his frustrations as Gladio crawled atop him and made quick work of their clothes. Their kisses were hot and messy, Gladio’s beard scratched his cheeks and lips and Ignis just stopped caring. He let those fingers trace his body, slip inside him, prepare him. His glasses were crooked on his face as his body shook in time with those fingers thrusting into him, and he cried out his frustrations and pleasure as his orgasm threatened to come before he was ready.

Gladio replaced his fingers with his cock and slammed inside Ignis, almost folding the other man in half as Ignis let out another cry. One hand on the wall, the other on the adviser’s hip, Gladio’s own hips pistoned in and out of that slender body, lewd sounds filling the cramped space of the caravan as the Shield thoroughly fucked Ignis. Ignis lost himself in the pleasure, let Gladio take him away from what he was feeling like he always did. His hips moved to meet the bigger man’s thrusts, heat pooling in his stomach as Gladio expertly pounded him into oblivion.

It’s when they finish and come back down to earth, that they notice they’re no longer alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Prompto tried desperately to cheer Noctis up, but it turned out to be harder than he had anticipated. When Noctis got in a funk, there were very few things that could get him out of it and none of them were working. The blond now knew about Ignis, knew about the issues Noctis’s engagement had caused, but he still tried to cheer the prince up.

When he failed, the two found themselves heading back to the caravan. They passed Cindy on the way back and Prompto tried to make small talk – who could blame him, she was _hot_ – but Noctis’s sullen expression kept Prompto distracted. He apologized to Cindy and continued back to the caravan with the moody prince before noises reached their ears several feet away from their destination.

Prompto perked up, ears twitching before his jaw practically hit the ground. “Dude!” he shouted before he could help himself, a hand slapping to Noctis’s chest. “Are they—”

Ignis could lie about priding himself on being quiet in bed all he wanted. That filthy shout was most _definitely_ him.

But Noctis wasn’t sure he could be mad as he stared at the caravan, which was shaking with what he had to assume were Gladio’s all-too-powerful thrusts. (From the way Ignis was wantonly moaning, it had to be.) Ignis was hurting and Noctis couldn’t fix it. And if he had to guess, this probably hadn’t been Ignis’s idea. Gladio had been staring at the other man pretty obviously since they’d left Insomnia.

“Prom?”

“Uh, yeah dude?” the blond swallowed, trying to adjust himself discretely.

“Should I be mad?”

Prompto started at the question, looking at Noctis as if he couldn’t believe the prince would ask him that. “Y-you totally can’t ask me that, Noct,” he protested. “I wouldn’t know the first thing—”

“—Because I’m not mad,” Noctis said, interrupting Prompto’s nervous ramble as the sounds of Gladio fucking Ignis continued from within. “I know he loves me. He wouldn’t stop loving me. And Gladio can give him something I can’t right now. And I still love him.”

Prompto fell quiet beside him but eventually he nodded in understanding. “Yeah, man.” He looked to the prince and then back at the caravan. “What are you gonna do?”

“Give him a heart attack,” Noctis replied with a smile as he started walking to the caravan. Prompto gawked at his friend, hesitating to follow but eventually giving in.

They arrived just in time to see Gladio and Ignis finish, a beautifully glorious sight. Naked Gladio was always a treat, and to see him pressing deep into Ignis’s slender flame was almost too much for Prompto. His aroused shuddering gasp had Gladio’s head snapping over his shoulder wide-eyed.

“Shit.”

Ignis’s heart pounded in his chest as his gaze met Noctis’s in the dim light of the caravan. Gladio was still on top of him, _in him_ , but Ignis couldn’t look away.

“Easy, princess,” Gladio was saying and Ignis winces at the nickname. “This was my bright idea, not his.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure his clothes just magically came off and his ass found its way to your cock,” Noctis replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Can we please continue this conversation after we’ve cleaned up?” Ignis braved to ask beneath the Shield. He was horrendously embarrassed to find this situation was somehow turning him on and that was the _last_ thing he needed.

 

* * *

 

 

Ignis and Noctis sat outside the caravan after Ignis had showered and cleaned up. The silence yawned between them, but Ignis couldn’t bring himself to look at Noctis. He’d had a couple of brief relationships over the years, despite his infatuation with Noctis, but he’d never cheated in his _life_.

“Iggy.”

The adviser stiffened before looking up at his prince, hesitant.

“…I’m not mad.”

Ignis blinked several times. “…I beg your pardon?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Why in-the-name-of-everything-holy not?”

Noctis smiled, looking away. “Because I love you, and I want you to be happy,”

Those words cut Ignis like a knife and he slumped in his chair. Noctis looked back at his adviser, quickly realizing those words alone didn’t come out right.

“Iggy, I didn’t mean…” Noctis growled in frustration and stood up. He moved in front of Ignis and then knelt before him, startling the other man. “This whole thing with Luna… I can’t risk messing it up. There’s too much at stake.” He bit his lip. “I can’t be with you, and it kills me. I love you so much it hurts.” He took Ignis’s hand, an innocent enough gesture even though no one was watching. “I know you didn’t do what you did with Gladio out of malice. I’m young, but I’m not an idiot. He can give you what I can’t right now. I want that for you. I know you still love me. I know you always will. It’s amaranthine. Right?”

There were tears in Ignis’s eyes by the time Noctis finished talking. He couldn’t throw his arms around the young prince and kiss him like he wanted, he could only fiercely squeeze the hand holding his own and nod.

“Amaranthine,” he whispered back.

 

* * *

 

 

So much happened so fast. Yes, the air was cleared between himself and Noctis, but their story refused to come to an end.

Ignis never expected things to come to this. He doesn’t expect Luna to die, he doesn’t expect the choice to come down to him.

He doesn’t expect to learn the truth about Ardyn.

But he never hesitated for a second. The gods asked him for a sacrifice, and Ignis refused to let it be Noct.

And as he lay there dying, his breath coming in shallow wheezes that terrify him, he heard a familiar shout of his name and then Noctis is there.

And then Noctis saved him.

As the prince warped into the crystal and turned back one last time, Ignis managed a nod when their gazes met. “Amaranthine?” he called, heart lifting.

A touched expression overcame the prince, and fresh tears sprang to his eyes. “Amaranthine.”

Ignis would count the days until his king came back to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if y'all think this needs an epilogue, let me know.
> 
> if you've never seen an amaranth flower, go look it up, but I think they're hideous. i love that word so i was super pissed to see that ugly thing lol (hence, why Ignis's and my plans were horribly ruined lol)
> 
> stay tuned b/c i have more fics coming. thank you so much for reading~
> 
> (dragonbornette on tumblr; bill_kaulitz on DW)


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